Chapter Text
beautiful stranger, here you are in my arms
and I think it's finally safe for me to fall
He’d been drinking alone, hunched over the bar with one stool empty between them. Aleah didn’t remember how they’d started talking, but somewhere between her third and second drink, his gaze had fixed on hers. They’d eased into conversation as softly as water slipped between rocks. He had an easy smile, friendly. Scruffy beard and brown hair that was peppered with streaks of grey.
She couldn’t tell if it was laugh lines or stress that creased his eyes, but Aleah liked to think it was the former. They were hazel, she realised, on the darker side and difficult to look away from. Aleah got the feeling that he was the type to stare at someone long enough until they divulged all their deepest, darkest thoughts.
Maybe, if she drank enough, she’d be one of them.
‘Rough day at work?’ She’d asked.
‘You could say that,’ he’d said, and something flickered in his gaze. A dimness that she didn’t much like, because it almost made him wilt. She preferred him smiling. ‘I’m off for the weekend.’
Hence the third bottle of beer. They didn’t touch on work again after that.
‘I grew up here, but I only just moved back.’ Aleah had said, and he’d listened intently. Like everything that fell from her lips was enrapturing. His chin rested in his palm, gaze tracking every detail of her face. It made her spill more than she’d wanted to. ‘My dads sick, I don’t know if he’ll get better.’
‘You two close?’
Aleah laughed, ‘not really, he’s a bit of an asshole... But family’s family, you know?’
‘That I do.’ He sighed out, running a hand through his hair.
It looked soft, and she wondered what it’d be like to yank on the strands while his tongue was between her thighs. Maybe it was the fourth drink, or maybe it was the fact he was hot, and looking at her like every word that left her lips mattered, but she erased that empty seat between them.
‘So, why is someone as hot as you alone right now?’
He barked out a laugh, shaking his head. Aleah liked the sound of it, and she got the feeling he didn’t give them out so easily.
‘You flirting with me?’
‘Trying.’ She shrugged.
They stared at each other for a beat, as if he expected her to fold and retreat. He looked away first. ‘You must be half my age.’
‘I’m thirty.’ She sat up, angled her knees toward his own. It was definitely the drink.
‘I’m pushing fifty, kid.’
‘I like older men.’
‘Dating isn’t something I have time for in my job.’
‘Who said anything about dating?’
She’d gone almost a year without sex, a relationship wasn’t exactly the first thing on her mind. Plus, between starting her new job on Monday and her dad, a boyfriend didn’t exactly fit well into that. She got the feeling that he wouldn’t like being called a boyfriend, either. It was too flimsy, too young for what he could be to her.
He paused for a long time, as if he knew this was probably a bad idea. Perhaps it was, but those were the best kind of nights, right? Thank god there were condoms in her nightstand.
He reached out a hand, ‘Robby.’
Aleah couldn’t help it, she laughed. ‘This a business meeting?’ Shaking his hand, she added ‘I’m Aleah.’
‘I prefer to at least know the name of someone I’m gonna spend the night with.’
He made it all sound so civilised, but the way he was looking at her; heated, conflicted, unable to look anywhere else. That made her think he’d fold her in half like a fucking pretzel. If she had to guess, it had been a while since he’d blown off steam, too.
‘My apartment is a block away.’
Robby waited until after her door closed to latch his lips onto her neck from behind, fingers hungry and searching as they wrapped around her waist and dove beneath her shirt. A juxtaposition to the reserved, almost gentlemanlike behaviour at the bar and on the walk back.
She loved both.
Her soft moans, and hitched breaths, seemed to stir something in him, because they barely shuffled off their shoes and got to the end of the hallway when he pushed her up against the wall.
‘I guess you are pushing fifty.’ Aleah laughed as she heard the crack in his knees when he sunk to the floor.
Robby nipped at the skin of her hip bone, ‘that mouth’s gonna get you in trouble.’
His fingers were meticulous, smooth in unbuttoning her jeans and pulling them down with her panties. His thumbs ghosted down her thighs, to her knees, and then calves. He pulled her jeans from her ankles gently, lips caressing the flesh of her thighs and eliciting a wave of goosebumps that climbed up her spine. It shot a bolt of pleasure straight to her core.
Fucking hell, he hadn’t even really touched her yet.
His eyes briefly tracked the open plan living room and kitchen, littered with unopened boxes. She noted he didn’t say anything about it, not just yet, at least. He was too busy pulling one of her legs over his shoulders. Gripping her thigh to hold her there.
Robby’s thumb dipped into Aleah’s wet folds, and it ripped a sharp, breathy moan from her lips.
‘Barely touched you, and you’re dripping for me.’ His voice had taken an edge. Laced with a hunger she didn’t know how to handle, she could imagine getting lost in it to the point of drowning.
And she’d love every second of it.
‘Please,’ she whined, fingers digging into his hair.
‘Please, what?’ He said, lazily rubbing circles into her clit.
‘Pl-please eat my pussy.’ She’d be mortified if she wasn’t so desperate for him.
‘Good girl,’ he mumbled, his tongue licking from her entrance right up to her clit in one, slow and hot stroke.
‘Fuck!’ She groaned, head banging into the wall. ‘Fuck, Robby!’
He ate her out leisurely, with an intention that she hadn’t experienced before. Robby’s strokes were not light, nor teasing. His tongue pressed into her so that every stroke into her clit felt tortuously good. Rubbing back and forth, working her up until pulling back to dip inside her. Almost like he was figuring out what she responded to, his gaze never leaving her face. Shit, if he was this good the first time, she’d gladly fucking be his research project.
He littered praise between licks, generously and with sincerity. Like she was a prized possession.
‘Taste so good, gonna make this perfect pussy come on my tongue and fingers so many times.’
She was barely holding it together by the time Robby slipped two fingers into her. The sound of it was so obscene and dirty that he only had to curl his fingers, and rub her spot twice before she exploded. Slick gushed out of her as she screamed, fingers fisting his hair so tightly as her vision dotted.
Yet, Robby kept going, sucking her bundle of nerves between his lips until her body convulsed with another, more intense orgasm.
‘Oh- oh god! ’
Forcing his head away became necessity, because Aleah was pretty fucking sure he’d have gone on for longer. Until she probably passed the fuck out. Pulling him up, she latched her lips onto his own. Tasting herself on him, feeling her slick all over his beard. It was the hottest fucking thing she’d done.
‘Fuck me. Now.’ She panted, her answer was a fist around her neck. Halting her from going in for another kiss.
Robby’s dark eyes, almost black and heavily dilated, zeroed in on hers. His jaw was set, like he was holding everything back. She wanted him to let go.
‘Ask nicely.’ He ordered, and the gravel beneath his voice sent a shiver from the base of her neck right down her spine.
Why would she fight that?
‘Please, fuck me.’ She said, before gripping onto his wrist. ‘Happy, now?’
‘Brat,’ he mumbled, but it was void of annoyance. Aleah even thought he sounded turned on.
‘Take me to bed, old man.’
He’d fucked her twice in a row; the first was fast, relentless and hard. Impatience had gotten the best of them, but Aleah had liked it that way. He’d held both her wrists in an iron grip above her head, and had slid into her in one hard, fast movement.
She’d screamed until her throat had gone raw. Robby hadn’t been so vocal, but Aleah swore she almost came again when he’d buried his head into her neck and bit down on her skin to stifle his moan as he’d spilled into the condom.
The second time had been slower, languid and still hard. Her hands had been freed to run through his hair as she sat on his lap, legs wrapped around his waist as he’d guided each stroke with his hands on her hips. That one had been intense, far more intimate than she’d anticipated. Their heads had pressed together, her eyes latched onto his until she’d climaxed and let her head fall back. Robby had planted kisses on her neck until she’d ridden out the rest of her orgasm and he'd grunted his own release into the curve of her shoulder.
Somewhere between three and four in the morning, they lay facing each other. Robby’s fingers had been running through her tight curls, careful when snagging on a tangle. She liked the way he treated her, a mix of roughness for the sake of pleasure, and gentleness for the sake of comfort.
‘Tell me something about you.’ She’d whispered, unsure of what made her want to ask.
Maybe it was the sadness that seemed ever present in his gaze, the type of sadness that embedded itself deeply into your bones, one that you carried with you. She recognised it intimately.
Robby’s sigh was quiet, and his gaze tracked her cheekbones, the curve of her bare shoulder. Her bedroom was dark, but a slither of moonlight broke through her curtains, casting a glow on both of them. He was so damn beautiful, it made her lose her breath.
‘I have a stepson.’ He paused. ‘He’s eighteen, a good kid.’
‘You’re not with his mom anymore?’ She probably should have checked that before bringing him home.
Robby shook his head. ‘It was a long time ago.’
‘But you and him stayed close?’
He nodded.
‘That’s really sweet.’ She said, fingers reaching to touch his jaw. ‘Did you ever want more? Kids?’
‘Sometimes,’ he said, taking hold of her hand. She felt him freeze, almost imperceptibly, as his thumb traced a vertical scar at the base of her wrist. ‘I think that time’s passed.’
He looked at her with melancholy, but not pity, and it overflowed with affection. A benignity that made her want to burst into tears then and there. Fear suffocated her, so she retreated.
‘Lots of old dudes have kids.’ Aleah joked.
The sadness in his eyes was briefly eclipsed with humour. ‘What did I tell you about that mouth?’
‘What? I’m being serious! About nine percent of fathers are over the age of forty-’ She laughed when he yanked her closer, fingers digging into her stomach and eliciting laughs. He’d found out quickly that she was ticklish.
‘Wait, stop! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Robby! ’
It took two more apologies before he relented, and Aleah stayed on his chest, fingers tracing the hair on his torso. His fingers caressed the skin on her forearms, and he raised one wrist to plant a kiss on her scar. Robby didn’t say anything else, didn't really need to. There was an understanding, a fragile, tender affection in his gaze as she watched him plant another kiss on her scar, before picking up her other wrist and doing the same thing. Her stomach warmed, filling with something that she felt was way too early to call love. They just retreated into their silence. It was comfortable, peaceful. As if they could be exactly who they were without the need for a veneer of politeness. A false smile that took more energy than it should have. Though, whenever Aleah smiled, they were genuine.
‘I’m sure you’re a great dad.’ She eventually said.
‘I could be there more.’ He shrugged. ‘I’m trying to be.’
‘That’s better than most.’ She said quietly.
Robby’s eyes softened toward her, and he waited a beat before speaking.
‘You said you’re not close with yours?’
‘God,’ Aleah groaned, ‘could I be any more of a cliche right now?’
Fucking a father while moaning about her own barely present one. How original.
Robby’s laugh was soft, gentle, but he said nothing. He knew she was deflecting. Perceptive bastard.
‘No, we’re not. My older sister is his favourite; followed in his footsteps career wise, didn’t stall and drop out of college for three years like I did. I eventually went back, but I don’t think he ever forgave me.’
‘Why did you drop out?’ Robby’s tone was gentle, almost cautious in his asking.
Aleah got the feeling that if she told him to back off, he would do so without question. With apologies.
‘My mom killed herself, and I just… didn’t see the point in anything for a really long time. Nothing mattered to me anymore. I just- I didn’t see the point in existing without her, so I didn’t give a fuck about college. I didn't give a fuck about anything.’
Aleah didn’t realise she’d started crying until Robby’s fingers gently wiped away the tears on her cheeks. Over and over again, patiently, as they freely flowed.
‘My dad just… carried on like nothing had happened. We just didn’t grieve in the same way, and I guess it just made us angry at each other.’
‘You said he’s sick?’ Robby’s urge was as tender as his caresses, it held together the small cracks in her tenuous resolve. She hated how this had basically become a fucking therapy session.
‘Stage three, oesophageal cancer. He’s smoked for literally decades.’
Robby didn’t push further, it was like he sensed that Aleah had gone as far as she could. Instead, he sat up, leaning against the headboard and pulled her to his chest. She went willingly, letting him stroke her curls softly, while the tears flowed and slowly eased away.
Ten minutes could have passed, or maybe it was an hour. Aleah felt like her room was a time capsule, temporarily making every moment with Robby feel simultaneously too long and short. She didn’t want to leave it, to burst the bubble on this little, fragile thing that burgeoned between them.
‘I had a mentor that I… lost.’ Robby’s voice broke through the silence, chin trembling from where it rested atop her head. ‘He wasn’t my dad, but- uh… we were real close. He died in COVID.’
‘Robby, I’m so sorry.’ She tried to move, to look up at him, but Robby’s grip didn’t loosen.
‘Taught me everything I knew,’ he paused, ‘Wouldn’t be half the man I am if it wasn’t for him.’
Her fingers squeezed around his biceps, offering the only comfort she knew how to give. The admission felt raw, vulnerable, and if the way Robby’s throat cleared while he inhaled a deep breath, Aleah surmised it was something he never spoke about. Couldn’t speak about.
She recognised it for what it was; an offer of admission. Extending an olive branch. Something that met her in the middle of that horrible chasm of overwhelming sadness and loneliness, and Aleah did not take it for granted.
‘I watched him die, and I couldn’t do a damn thing.’
She pulled herself out of his grip, sitting up to face him and taking his face in her hands. The soft sheen of tears reflected against the moonlight, though none fell. Something tore open inside of Aleah, crumbling and leaving a deep ache between her ribs. Even now, in this quiet, frozen space in time, he would not break.
‘It’s okay,’ she whispered, placing soft kisses on his forehead and cheeks, ‘it’s okay.’
The first fissure came when he bent his head and pressed into her bare chest. The second was deeper, wracking his body and repeated until Aleah felt moisture on her skin. She pulled him closer, until he fully leaned into her, fingers pressing into her back with an almost childlike desperation.
Robby fell asleep sobbing into her chest.
That might have been the best damn sleep of Robby’s life. Without bad dreams, or tossing and turning. His body no longer felt like it weighed a thousand thoughts or pent up emotion. Instead, he’d been lulled into comfort, encased in a tender care that he seldom - if ever - had been the subject of. With a soft, warm body wrapped around him and holding him like he was the most fragile thing to ever be held. Sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains, and he rubbed tiredly at his eyes as his other hand felt around for his phone.
As he sat up, he realised it was charging on the bed side table. He smiled to himself, Aleah had put it on charge. She was vacant from the spot beside him, but if the sound of a coffee machine in the kitchen was anything to go by, it indicated that she was currently making a pot for them.
He pulled his phone from the cord, brows rising at the fact it was past two in the damn afternoon. He never slept in. His bad sleeping habits usually got him six hours, max.
One text from Jack, not emergency related. A bunch from Jake about coming to stay with him next weekend. That was it.
He stood, searching the bedroom for his clothes, before realising they were missing. Including his underwear. Robby’s mind, perplexed, floated to the ridiculous idea that she had stolen his clothes.
A laugh tumbled from his lips as he stumbled into her adjoining bathroom. In the middle of the night, it had been much harder to find, but in the afternoon light? It was hard to miss the pastel pink bath matt that was situated just outside of her shower, or the pink hand towels hanging from the rack. He smiled to himself. He couldn’t explain how he knew, but it felt extremely like her.
When he stood in front of the sink, he noted the bags that had found a home beneath his eyes didn’t look so comfortable anymore. That’s what decent sleep gets you? He hated when Dana was right.
‘You’re up!’
It was almost comical how quickly his head whipped to the bedroom, where Aleah stood with his clothes in her hands. Well, she had his boxers in one, and his t-shirt in the other.
‘I washed the whites first, the cargos and hoody will be about another hour.’
His eyes tracked her long, very bare, tanned legs. They disappeared beneath an oversized t-shirt, old and faded. It looked like one she probably slept in regularly. Something in Robby stirred; primal, a little too territorial for his liking at the idea that it was another man's shirt.
It sank away as she smiled widely at him, face bare and curls spilling over her shoulders. Her light brown skin looked much fresher than his own, she’d probably had a shower.
‘Thanks,’ he coughed out, realising he’d been silent for a little too long.
It was embarrassing. What was he, fifteen?
Aleah’s stride toward him was confident, sexier than it had any right to be. She placed his clothes on the edge of her sink, and he instinctively reached out for her, pulling her into his bare chest. He slanted his lips over hers, and she damn near sighed into his mouth. His hands wandered from her waist, to the curve of her ass. He grunted, something in him sparking hot and eager when he realised she wasn’t wearing underwear. He was hard, again .
‘Easy, old man.’ She laughed. He hated how riled up it got him, it was why she kept using it too.
He was so damn obvious with her.
Aleah pulled back, resting one hand on his chest while the other ran through his hair. Her gaze softened as she looked at him.
‘Did you sleep good?’
He hummed in response, distracted by the soft pads of her fingers on his scalp. ‘Almost too good.’
‘Memory foam mattress.’ She bragged, ‘pillows too.’
‘So my bad back is all because of a shitty mattress?’ He countered.
Her nod was eager, self satisfied, as if she had told him a thousand times in conversations before last night to invest in memory foam. They both knew that wasn’t the reason.
‘Thank you,’ he said quietly, pulling her closer ‘I mean it. Thank you.’
Aleah’s response was the softest of kisses on the corner of his lips. Tender, affectionate. She gave it all so freely, as if he deserved it all and more. He’d almost forgotten he was standing there naked, with just one layer between them.
‘Bath towels in the cupboard under the sink, and a spare toothbrush in the mirror one.’ She instructed, pulling herself out of his grip. He was reluctant to let her go.
‘Can’t convince you to join me?’
Aleah shook her head, winking at him. ‘Very tempting, but I already had one, and I’m making breakfast.’
He watched her leave the bathroom, knowing damn well that she’d forgone underwear on purpose.
Admitting that he’d spent the entire weekend with her should have felt more embarrassing that it actually did. Couldn’t exactly be a one night stand when you shared a bed two nights in a row, and made meals together. They didn’t leave Aleah’s apartment, the reluctance to burst that strange, perfect bubble that had slowly constructed itself around the both of them was overwhelming.
He liked waking up next to her, liked that he could curve his body around her and bury his head in her neck. Liked that - despite knowing so very little about each other - that it felt like she knew him the most.
She’d made him put on his favourite movie - The Naked Gun - before showing him hers - Splash.
‘When I was little, I used to tell my mom I wanted to be a mermaid.’ He’d laughed and pulled her in to plant a kiss on her head. It felt very like her.
He’d eaten her out before the movie finished.
They’d ordered Lebanese takeout, which they ate on top of her unpacked boxes. She told him she was half Algerian, he’d told her that he’d never been married. Her favourite genre to read was fantasy and political non-fiction, his last book had been a reread of an old crime novel.
Come sunday evening, Robby was sure he could pick out her exact favourite shade of blue and pink from swatches. Aleah had learned exactly what temperature he liked to have his coffee; hot, but not fresh, scalding hot. She’d let it sit in a mug for fifteen minutes before giving it to him.
‘I know you said you don’t do dating,’ she said quietly, fiddling with the hem of her shirt as they stood at her front door, placing a piece of folded paper in his hand, ‘but… this is my number. In case you change your mind.’
She’d looked at him then, head on and confidently. Like she dared him to challenge her.
‘I think we have something, Robby.’
Sleeping in his own bed that night had been significantly less comfortable.
He’d stepped into The Pitt that morning less morbid than on Friday. Noticeable enough that Dana smirked at him as he headed toward her.
‘You got laid.’ She said, and infuriatingly not discreetly.
‘Jesus, I just walked through the door. Can I finish my coffee first?’
Dana was always there at six-thirty, and always earlier than Robby. It was like she almost enjoyed being in there for longer than necessary. Her blonde hair was pulled back out of her face, and the smugness in her soft expression didn’t falter.
‘Who’s the lucky girl? One night stand? New girlfriend?’
She was too damn perceptive for her own good.
‘How about you do your job, please?’
She rolled her eyes, fixing him with a look . ‘It’s almost like you want to die alone and miserable.’
‘You know what they say,’ he said, fixing her with his own, ‘misery loves company.’
She scoffed, but it was void of any real annoyance before pointing at him to say this isn’t over as he walked to the lockers. He pulled out the small, folded piece of paper that had Aleah’s scribbled number on it.
She was right, there was something between them. Seldom did Robby find anyone he wanted to date, let alone a person he could fall apart with and feel some type of whole the very next day. Something inside him had flickered to life when they’d met, kept aflame by the melody of her laugh, and the caress of her fingers.
Who knew when he’d find something like that again?
He unlocked his phone.
Hi. It’s Robby.
I’d like to see you again.
He sent it before he could overthink, or do something stupid - like text his stepson and ask him how you asked a girl out. For a fraction of a second, it didn’t seem like such a bad idea.
A new low for him.
Robby pocketed his phone before he got invested in staring at the screen for too long in the hopes of seeing typing bubbles. Shoving his backpack into his locker, he locked in.
Dana and Jack greeted him at the board for handover when he returned. ‘You leaving me a shit show?’
‘Not as shitty as that grill explosion from a family birthday last week.’ Jack grunted.
‘Hardly an explosion.’ Robby countered, a small hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. ‘And I got the worst patient to the OR before you arrived.’
Jack’s eyes narrowed as he looked at him. ‘What’s got you in such a damn good mood?’
Dana leaned over the counter, ‘he got laid.’
The attending's brow rose a fraction, before he looked Robby up and down. ‘That good, huh?’
Exasperated, Robby threw his hands up. ‘Can we focus, please? I’m still down an attending and instead of a damn replacement, I got an R3 transferring in.’
His phone buzzed, and Robby tried to ignore it. Jack and Dana would ride him if it was who he wanted it to be, but his heart rate must have sped up about three damn paces. Jack went through hand over at what felt like an unbearably slow pace, and all the while his phone kept buzzing. Incessant, insufferably loud, though perhaps it was only loud to him - because Dana nor Jack reacted.
When he bid the chief attending farewell, he finally pulled out his cell. Robby’s chest expanded with something that could, almost, be described as excitement.
hey old man!
Glad u texted :)
I’m free tonight? Is that too eager?
I feel liek it’s too eager but then we kinda went past that point, right?
I get off at seven so let me know
if it’s too late to go out, then we can order in and stay at my place? I have early starts all week so that might be better
Robby’s smile gained an inch with every message. He could hear every new thought spring from her mouth in the same format as her texts, as if she were typing as she was thinking. It had become obvious to him very quickly that Aleah was most likely neurodivergent, and it was confirmed when she’d told him over coffee on Sunday morning that she’d gotten a late stage ADHD diagnosis.
He loved that she spoke as she was thinking, like both were connected intimately and unable to separate when something excited her and brought her joy. It had crawled into the cracked parts of his chest and revitalised it with something that felt new and strong.
Tonight's good. I can come over at 8.
‘Can I atleast get a name?’ Dana interrupted.
He looked up from his phone, finding she’d been staring at him a little too intently. Accusation coated her next words thickly.
‘You’d think after a decade of friendship I earned the name of your new girlfriend.’
‘Who said we’re friends?’ He shot back, shoving the phone into his pocket.
He felt another buzz, and wrestled with himself to stop a stupid grin eclipsing his features.
‘Low blow, you little shit.’ Dana placed a folder between them. ‘Your R3 transfer is well connected, her father’s on the board.’
‘A late R3 transfer getting an attendings spot being well connected? Shocker.’
‘I believe they call them nepo babies now,’ Dana laughed, ‘can’t keep up with all this gen z shit.’
‘I think nepo baby is a millennial term.’ Robby said, reaching for the folder.
‘Same thing,’ Dana mumbled, ‘but the R3 - Aleah Summers - has some good credentials. Harvard med graduate-’
‘-Who?!’
‘Aleah Summers.’ Dana clarified, like he was an idiot. Unaware of the ringing in his ears. Loud, unbearable ringing, like a damn car alarm. ‘Bruce Summers is her father, former Chief Surgeon. You know, he was always a rude asshole?’
Robby was pretty sure his heart had crashed. Thoughts jumbling together until they merged, and he couldn’t sift through any. Dana kept on talking, interrupted only by the jovial tone that he’d learned to associate with Mel.
‘Dr Robby, I have an Aleah Summers here. She said she’s starting today.’
He turned around, and - Jesus - it was like looking at her for the first time. All cute, easy smiles, and kind dark brown eyes. Curls pulled back into a clip, with rogue strands framing her face. Except, this time, instead of the tight tshirt and too tight jeans that had him staring at her ass for too long, she was in black scrubs. Backpack held in one arm while her coat was in the other. Face bare of make up, and still just as beautiful as that fucking morning he woke up in her bed.
Aleah’s eyes widened for a second, and those stupidly, endearing big brown eyes of hers were almost too difficult to look away from.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit .
He was so screwed.